Heat Wave
by Sunscorched
Summary: AU. Not wanting to marry Cloud, Tifa flees the wedding and finds a life that exceeds her wildest dreams. Bad language. TifaSeph, CloudAeris.


Heat Wave

The sound of one heart breaking was sickening indeed, but the sound of three was nothing but a hellish cacophony of pain and anger, weakness and frustration, tears and silent screams. Blue orbs caught red and in turn, red caught hazel, all eyes full of empathy and sadness, longing and wishes. All involved hurt, but for the fact there wasn't a thing any could do about it.

As she walked closer to her unwanted groom, her heart died a little bit more. Her dress pinched her was long and so awful, she felt sick to her stomach. The corset underneath pinched her waist and breasts, the lethal heels made her feet and ache and toes numb. All in white and lace, Tifa Lockheart was a stunning and beautiful bride, she was everything pure and innocent.

God, she wanted to throw up.

The cooed whispers and awed praise slithered down the church aisles, the sounds of a hundred strange voices prickled and made her skin itch. Sparkling bright with tears, crimson orbs stared up at the religious image and begged for help.

Asteroids hurtling towards the Planet, the Lifestream suddenly overflowing, mako reactors simultaneously blowing up. An invasion by Shrinra, a contract for her blood, a very sharp razor blade for her wrists. Anything, as long as it stopped this farce of a wedding, would do.

As though the lives of three people weren't about to be shattered, the music played on and her heels clacked rhythmically, disturbing the hush descending over the room.

Equally haunted and hollow, the gentle blue eyes of Cloud Strife squeezed shut as his strong body trembled. He didn't want this, he didn't want to marry Tifa. Opening after a few moments, he met the desperate gaze of Aeris, Tifa's best friend and bridesmaid, and offered a weak smile that wasn't returned.

Tifa and Cloud loved one another, that was no question, but they weren't in love. For him, the one who held his heart was Aeris Gainsborough. The genteel flower girl who lived in the slums of Midgar. His father, though not denying his son the friendship, would never approve of his marrying.

If it hadn't been for Tifa and her naturally cunning ways, Cloud and Aeris would not have had the relationship they had. The brunette had often lied to her parents in order to see her best friends happy and thus, leading them into the situation they were in now.

For as long as they could remember, Tifa and Cloud and Aeris had been the very best of friends. Running round and causing chaos, playing naked in a paddling pool when they were tots, pushing swings and being kids. All those memories, and more, were about to be ruined by the careful planning of two sets of parents who wanted a merger.

To their parents, the lives of Tifa and Cloud, were nothing more than bargaining chips for more money and bigger houses.

Coming to a halt at his side, the brunette was kissed by her father and Cloud received a pat on the back. Their shaking hands were placed together, bride and groom looked at each other in apology.

"Dearly beloved." The priest, Father Dooley, began in a very proud voice. "We are gathered here today to witness…"

Blood rushed through Tifa's ears as the words were spoken. Blunt teeth bit down hard enough to draw blood from her ruby red lips as she struggled not to cry. She didn't want this, she didn't want to her life with a man she wasn't in love with. Her aching feet wanted to run as fast and as far away as possible, but she couldn't move.

Seated behind her, she heard Aeris whispering for strength and her heart went out to the girl. How she was feeling, Tifa couldn't know but if it was near to what she was going through, then hellish torment it was.

It was when Cloud murmured the words "Sorry, so sorry" that Tifa knew what she had to do.

Snatching her hand away from his and gathering the ridiculously long skirt, the brunette planted a quick kiss on his cheek and tried to smile.

"I can't do this, Cloud." Weak and shaky yet full of a fire she didn't feel, her voice rang through the crowd. "I can't do this to you and Aeris, but mostly, I can't do this to myself."

His heart was pounding as he met the eyes of his father and met them directly. Tifa was right. This would be the biggest mistake of their lives if they carried on living a lie and suddenly, he didn't care what his parents thought. He didn't care if they would cut him off without a gil, he just did not care.

Not marrying Tifa, Cloud would have the opportunity to marry Aeris and be truly happy.

Stuffing his hand into his pocket and yanking out some money, the blonde grinned wickedly as he gave it to his best friend. "Take this and go." He stated, finding the urge to grab his secret lover and run. "Goodbye Tifa, and good luck."

"Love ya!" Tifa kissed him again, this time on the lips and, spinning on her heel, turned and fled the church, leaving her jilted fiancé to deal with the fallout. One day, she knew, she would have to come back and tie up loose ends but for now, she simply relished the fresh air as it hit her face.

&&&&&&

He, like always, was having a bad day and he was in an extremely bad mood. His head was throbbing and his bike was running out of fuel, the sun was too damn hot and he was sweating buckets. His hair, long and silver, clung to his neck and his skin itched in response. The leather gloves felt like furnaces and his pants chafed his legs while the seat, black and leather, burned right through his clothes. Not even the wind, caused by the speeding bike, could give any relief to the blistering heat.

Sephiroth was definitely not a happy man. He wanted a bath and clean clothes, he never wanted to see the words "I need your services" again and he wanted to take a mako bomb, stick it right up his former client's ass and blow it the fuck up.

He didn't do women and children. Why people couldn't understand that was beyond him.

He snarled and, with a over heated fist, smacked the handlebars of the bike. A paltry thirty thousand gil was his payoff. Thirty thousand! These days, he didn't get out of bed for less than fifteen.

The hitman's face remained impassive as he mulled over the job he'd turned down. A kid, a seventeen year old girl, was supposed to be his target but, as he'd firmly stated to the client, he didn't do women and children. Unless she had been a wealthy heiress standing in the way of inheritance, he didn't see what someone could gain from killing a teenager.

Thinking that had been the case, he had delved a littler deeper and found, to his confusion, the girl was nothing more than a florist in the Midgar slums. Not knowing why this girl had been targeted, the hitman had used the lack of money as an excuse not to take the job. Those things always came back to bite the ass.

Sephiroth shook his head. Wasn't his problem anymore. He had more important things on his mind, like finding a way to stop the heat before he melted into puddle of sweat and leather.

Disturbing the solitude an image of a girl, dressed for a wedding, caught his attention. Not one to be shocked by anything, he merely rose an eyebrow at the sight of her standing at the roadside.

The wedding dress was ghastly and atrocious, her face was red and her hands kept on hiking the skirt up higher. He knew desperation when he saw it.

As he slowed the bike on approach, Sephiroth noted her eyes were a deep red and looking his way. Her arms began to wave around rapidly and, despite his better judgement, he pulled over.

"I have fifty gil if you take me away." She yelled and skidded to his side. Her face lowered and shoes were kicked off, followed by the veil that went sailing in the wind. "Please. Take me as far as you can."

This was more than desperation, it was a cry for help. Sephiroth sat back on the seat for a second and observed the horizon. His senses, acute from years of military and personal training, picked up on the faint roar of speeding cars before glancing at the girl.

Tear stains lined her cheeks and, though she was smiling, her eyed begged and hands clutched the money like a lifeline. "Please."

"Get on." Sephiroth cursed himself and fate as he shifted forward to make room for her. His body unwelcoming to the femininity now curling tightly around his waist. Not saying anything more, he gunned the engine and shot off.

&&&&&&

Burying her face into the stranger's back and breathing with relief, Tifa held on tightly and allowed the wind to ease her troubles. Offhandedly, she noted how he smelt and wrinkled her nose up in response. It was boiling and he was in leather, so it was no wonder he was perspiring.

"You really need to take a bath, Mister." The brunette muttered and leaned her cheek against his back. No good. His jacket was hotter than the damn sun and her skin was already sticking to it.

"You're very observant." Sephiroth replied, his voice cool and aloof. "Where you going?"

Thinking for a moment, "Just take me as far as you can."

Quickly pulling over to the side of the road and killing the engine, the hitman let out a frustrated sigh. "Listen, Lady." He all but growled, "I've had a bitch of a day, my bike needs refuelling and I don't have time to sit around while you make decisions."

Clumsily clambering off the bike to stand where she could see him, Tifa pinned the stranger with a glare that could stop wars. Gesturing to her wedding dress, "You think you've had a bad day?" Who did this guy think he was? It wasn't as if he owned the world's supply of bad days.

Green orbs turned icy hot and narrowed dangerously. He had a very nice little handgun in tucked in his belt, did she want him to use it? "You asked for a ride, I gave it to you. Now kindly, before I loose my temper, tell me where the fuck you want to go."

"Do you have to use vulgar language?"

Sephiroth shrugged and, with a short flick of his wrist, turned the engine on. "Have fun, Lady."

Before she could say another word, he was off and leaving her stranded by the road.

"Well, that was rude." Tifa huffed and, after folding her arms across her chest, stood staring after the dusty trail left by the motorcycle. A moment or two past and she began to wonder what exactly it was she was going to do.

Between Costa Del Sol and North Corel, in the middle of the day and when the sun was at it's peak. As if that wasn't enough, she was clad in a wedding dress made up of raw Wutai silk, which was as expensive as it was heavy.

Her lower lip pooched out and started to wobble, eyebrows snapped together and fingernails tapped on her arms, while bare feet burned on the dusty road. "Oooh!" Tifa growled and childishly stamped her foot, only regretting it when small pebbles sent shocks of stinging pain up her leg. "Damn!"

This was just not her day.

&&&&&&

No more than half a mile away, Sephiroth's bike was stationery as sat on the grass. To provide a little relief, his jacket and shirt were off, allowing the sweltering rays drench his skin. His head was back and sunglasses on, legs stretched out and crossed at the ankle, weight rested on elbows.

He wondered if she'd managed to get another ride then answered that question, as no other traffic had past him, it was pretty obvious she'd be where he left her. Shaking his head and opening his eyes, the hitman willed away tiny amounts of guilt that threatened to evolve into more. Everyone had to learn to fend for themselves, she may as well start now.

A pretty young thing, with sultry eyes and dark hair, all alone at the road would definitely provide a tempting sight for some.

Fuck.

Sitting upright and dragging his hands through his hair, Sephiroth blew out a breath between gritted teeth then grabbed his shirt as he stood. Looking in the direction from which he'd came and angrily kicking dust with the toe of his boot. There was no way he could leave her there, things like these only came back to bite the ass. Gracefully swinging his leg over the seat and sitting still, he contemplated momentarily before driving back the way he came.

&&&&&&

Part of her skirt was torn off and now adorned both feet, protecting them from the burning ground and another part was used to mop her brow. Both legs were firmly tucked under the dress, shielded against the sun and dust. Her chin was cupped in her hands and eyes were tiredly focused on the horizon, looking for anymore rides.

"My life sucks." Tifa miserably stated. Being married to Cloud wouldn't have been this bad, at least she would have air conditioning and shoes, not to mention access to cool clothes. Hindsight was a truly evil thing.

The sound of an engine, moving at full throttle, had her head snapping up and hope shining within her crimson orbs. Jumping to her feet and waving her arms around like a maniac, Tifa was sure that this time, it would be a nice man who would pick her up. The revitalised hope disappeared and her heart tumbled into her stomach.

It was the same bike and, if the hair was anything to go by, the same man.

Great, just flaming great.

Arms dropped limply by her sides and the bouncing stopped, Tifa sighed and clenched hands into small fists. Her narrowing eyes roamed his face and posture, brain ignoring the lack of shirt, and she committed his appearance to memory. If he drove past and abandoned her again, she would hunt him down and make him sorry.

As he blazed past, she was sure he was going to do just that but, as she watched the bike skid and spin, she realised he wasn't.

Removing the sunglasses and staring at her, Sephiroth was treated to a blinding and genuine smile. Those lips, full and red, curled up until straight white teeth were gleaming in the sun. Her flushed cheeks puffed up and a dimple appeared below her lower lip. For a second, time crashed to a halt and the planet ceased to turn.

It was liking waking up from a nightmare and finding himself in heaven.

He watched, in serene silence, as she ran to his side and threw her arms right around his neck, squeezing tightly and squealing in delight. Unused to such enthusiastic contact, Sephiroth's posture tensed and he removed her hold, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Tifa continued to beam. "I thought you were gonna abandon me again."

"I didn't abandon you, Lady. I came back, didn't I?" God only knew why, but he did.

"That's debateable, but never mind." Her hands performed a flourishing motion and he leaned away lest he got hurt. "Here you are."

Sephiroth felt a headache coming on. "Your astute nature grows in my estimation. Are you getting on?"

"Yes, yes and yes again!" Jumping up behind him and enveloping his waist again, the brunette planted a chaste smooch between his shoulder blades then wiped her mouth free of his sweat. "The nearest place is Corel. If we hurry, we can make it there in an hour cus you really need a bath."

As the bike set off for the destination, Tifa didn't once look back and let her fantasies slip from dreams to reality.


End file.
